A complete and successful regiment of oral hygiene and the care of one's teeth necessarily includes brushing the teeth after every meal and sometimes after snacks, coffee, tea, and the like. Unfortunately, strict adherence to such a regiment is often difficult when using conventional toothbrushes and toothpastes since these articles are traditionally too large, bulky, and potentially messy to carry in one's pocket or purse. The problem is particularly acute for airline passengers, who would like to brush their teeth after having a meal on the plane, and for hikers or backpackers for whom each unnecessary ounce of added weight and bulk in their pack can be critical. Also, it is usually desirable for parents that children brush their teeth after meals at school, at play, and in restaurants. However, it is virtually impossible to convince children to carry with them a conventional toothbrush and toothpaste for such purpose.
A number of attempts have been made in the past to provide compact disposable toothbrushes that can be carried in a purse or pocket and discarded after having been used to brush the teeth. U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,941 of Dunn, for example, shows a thimble-like structure that fits on the end of a finger and that has a multitude of protruding bristles that function to brush and clean the teeth as the tip of the finger is moved with a brushing motion across the teeth. This patent also discloses a second embodiment wherein a sheath fits on the finger, has bristles on the end, and, for storage, folds up and over itself to form a compact self-enclosing package. U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,274 of Friedman discloses a device having a brush with conventional bristles mounted to a plastic frame that clips onto the tip of a user's finger. U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,694 of Bori shows a similar device wherein a plastic clip for the fingertip has a unique bristle design protruding therefrom for brushing the teeth. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,107,562 of Dunn, 1,896,941 of Cohen, and 4,620,528 of Arraval also disclose various types of tooth-brushing devices that are mounted on one's finger and that, in most cases, are disposable after use.
While the devices disclosed in the above referenced patents represent improvements over traditional brushes and toothpaste for brushing the teeth while traveling or while at the office or at school, they nevertheless tend to be plagued with certain problems and shortcomings inherent in their respective designs. For example, devices that include a rigid clip that mounts to the end of a finger generally are bulky, cumbersome, and difficult to manufacture. Further, these devices still require that a dentifrice, such as toothpaste, be carried separately and applied to the brush before use. Finger mounted devices that fold over themselves to form a self-enclosing pouch tend to be inefficient to produce since each item must be manipulated to fold and seal it during the manufacturing progress. Furthermore, any tooth paste or other dentifrice applied to the bristles of these devices tends to become smeared onto the pouch forming portion of the device creating a mess when the device is unfolded and placed on the finger.
Finger mounted toothbrushes that have taken the form of a rollable latex finger cot that can be unrolled onto a finger have also been plagued with their problems. For example, the brush portions of such devices tend to be exposed to compressive forces on the device that can smash or deform the bristles of the brush. This can be a particular problem for these finger cot type brushes since they are designed to roll up onto a relatively flat configuration and are stored in a pouch that is kept in a pocket, purse, or backpack where significant compressive forces are common. Many of these devices become useless after periods of such storage because the bristles of the brush get flattened and pre-applied dentifrice can simply become smeared on the inside of the storage pouch. In addition, brushes of the finger cot variety have tended to slip around on the finger during use. Furthermore, there has been no effective way of insuring a sterile condition of the brush and dentifrice before use. Finally, while the brushes of these various devices tend to clean the exposed clinical crowns of one's teeth, there generally is no provision for cleaning interproximally between the teeth.
Therefore, a continuing and heretofore unaddressed need exists for a compact teeth cleaning kit that can be carried easily in a purse or pocket, that incorporates a disposable finger mounted toothbrush that forms a tight compact configuration for storage that is easily placed on the finger for use, that incorporates means for cleaning between the teeth as well as brushing the surface of the teeth, that provides protection against brush flattening and deformation as a result of compressive forces, that insures a sterile condition for the brush and dentifrice impregnated thereon, and that is efficient, inexpensive, and easy to produce. It is to the provision of such a teeth cleaning kit and disposable brush that the present invention is primarily directed.